Combined shoulder-brace and suspender.



F. C. HUNT.

COMBINED SHOULDER BRACE AND SUSPENDBRS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 25, 1904.

PATENTBD MAR. 2.1, 19105.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

F. 0. HUNT. GOMBINEDSHOULDER BRACE AND SUSPENDBRS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 25. 1904.

PATENTED MAR. 2l, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented March 21, 1905'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK C. HUNT, OF GIRARD, OHIO.

COMBINED SHOULDER-BRACE AND Y SUSPENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,494, dated March 21, 1905.

Application led August 25, 1904. Serial No. 222,124.

To (L7/Z whom, t may cm1/cern.'

Be it known that I, FREDERICK C. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Girard, in the county of Trumbull and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Combined Shoulder-Brace and Suspender, of which the following is a speci- 'cation This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in garment-supporters, and has for its object to provide a novel article of manufacture designed to operate .as a combined shoulder-brace and suspender.

In order that the invention and the advantages to be derived from its use may be more clearly understood, I have illustrated the device in the accompanying drawings, in whichv Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating my invention in its entirety. Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the strap-connectors. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a modification of the same. Fig. 4 is a view showing one mode of applying the device to the trousers, and Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating a different manner of applying said device.

Referring now to the drawings, the numerals l 2 indicate, respectively, two shoulderstraps of the device, and 3 .4 the two backstraps. The said shoulder-straps and backstraps have their inner ends passed through a rectangular holder 5 and are adjusted therein to lengthen or shorten the straps by means of buckles 6 of the ordinary construction. Each of the straps named is provided at its outer end with the'ordinary buttonhole-tab 7, by means of which the said straps may be secured to the buttons on the waistbands of the trousers.

In applying the device to the trousers and to the body of the wearer the back-straps 3 4 are secured, respectively, to the rearmost button at each side of the trousers. The shoulder-straps 1 2 are passed over the shoulders and under the arms and may be secured in either one of the ways shown in Figs. 4 and 5-tl1at is to say, the strap 2, as shown in Fig. 4, may be connected to the right-hand button 8 at the rear of the trousers and the strap 1 to the left-hand button 9, or said straps may be crossed, as shown in Fig. 5, and the strap 2 connected to the left-hand button 9 and the strap 1 to the right-hand button 8. The latter construction is preferred, for the reason that regarding the back-strap 3 as a continuation of the shoulder-strap 2 and the back-strap 4 as a continuation of the shoulder-strap 1 it will be seen from Fig. 5 that the pull will be directly from the left shoulder to the right-hand side of the trousers, said pull being exerted by the straps 1 and 4, and the pull from the right shoulder will be directly on the left side of the trousers, said pull being exerted by the straps 2 and 3. Thus as one of the advantages of my device is that the abdomen is held in thereby, due to the pull of the said straps exerted on the waistband of the trousers, said pull being exerted to compress the front part of the trousers against the abdomen, the pull exerted by one set of straps-say l 4-will not be offset by the pull exerted by the other set of straps 2 3; as will be the oase to some extent with the arrangement shown in Fig. 4. In other Words, as shown by Fig. 4, the shoulder-straps 1 and 2 exert a pressure tending to separate the trousers at the rear, while in the arrangement shown by Fig. 5 said shoulder-straps, as well as the back-straps, exert a pull on the trousers from opposite directions, tending to close them at the rear. Also the pull upon the shoulders is exerted from opposite sides of the trousers-that is to say, the

ull on the right shoulder will be from the left-hand side of the trousers and the pull on the left shoulder from the right-hand side of the truousers, thus materially increasing the bracing effect of the device.

At the points where the shoulder-strap 1 and the back-strap 3 and the shoulder-strap 2 and back-strap 4 cross I provide strap-connectors l0, one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 2. Each of these strap-connectors is formed of a single piece of wire bent into rectangular shape and having its end portions at one corner twisted upon themselves, as indicated at l1, and extended inward toward the opposite corner to form a spring-tongue I 12. In applying this connector to the straps one of said straps is slipped under said tongue, while the other strap is passed through the connecter in a manner to overlap the other strap and cover said tongue. By this arrangement the lower strap is held securely in position by said spring-tongue, while the upper strap, which overlaps the lower, is held by frictional engagement with the connector and with the strap beneath it. Both straps, however, can be readily pulled through the connector to adjust the device properly to the body of the wearer. This connection also serves to maintain the ends of the straps containing the buttonholes in their proper relative position, so that they can be easily and quickly brought to the proper place to be applied to the buttons of the trousers.

The iXed connection at the back aHorded by theholder 5, to which the inner ends of allv the straps is secured, enables me to obtain the bracing effect, as when the straps have been once adjusted there can be no yielding at this point. It will be noted that the buckles 6 for adjusting the length of the straps are located in use at the back of the wearer and that no adjustments come in front or under the arms.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a modification of the strap-connector l0 in which the wires after being twisted at 1l are extended to the opposite corner of the connector and secured thereto, thus forming a spring-bar 13.

So far as the device acts as a brace it is adapted to hold the shoulders erect and the abdomen back and to leave the chest perfectly free. In its function as a garmentsupporter it operates to holdthe trousers in proper position irrespective of the movement oi' the body, with no slack at the sides or front of the waist and without pulling the trousers or permitting them to sag.

The device as a whole is exceedingly simple in construction, and is especially serviceable in summer weather, permitting the ordinary waistcoat 0r vest to be omitted, while the device will be entirely covered by the coat. Thus the belt usually worn in summer when Suspenders are omitted can be dispensed with, or said belt can be worn without it beinCT necessary to draw the same objectionabrly tight to hold up the trousers.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps secured at their inner ends and having their outer end portions crossed and connected and provided with buttonhole-tabs.

2. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps adjustably secured at their inner ends and having their outer end portions crossed and connected and provided with buttonhole-tabs.

3. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps secured at their inner ends and having their outer end portions crossed and adjustably connected and provided with buttonhole-tabs.

4. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps secured at their inner ends and havinfr their outer end portions crossed and slidaby connected and provided with buttonhole-tabs.

5. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps adjustably secured at their inner ends to a common member and having their outer end portions crossed and connected and provided with buttonhole-tabs.

6. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps secured at their inner ends and having their outer end portions crossed and connected and adapted, in operation, to have the shoulder-straps crossed at the back of the wearer whereby a shoulder-strap and back-strap exerting a pull on the shoulder on one side of the wearer will exert a pull on the trousers at the opposite side.

7. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps having their outer end portions crossed, and a connection for said straps at the point of crossing comprising a rectangular wire frame provided with a diagonal member.

8. A combined shoulder-brace and suspender comprising two shoulder-straps and two back-straps having their outer end portions crossed, and an adjustable connection for said straps at the point of crossing comprising a rectangular wire frame made from a single piece of wire having its end portions twisted at one corner and projecting inward diagonally across the frame.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK C. HUNT. Witnesses JOSEPH E. HAZARD, ALFRED D. HUNT.

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